


Of Charms and Chocolate

by RinChanSanMatsuoka



Category: Free!
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Angst, First Kiss, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Middle School, Referenced Bullying, Rin never went to Australia, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 08:51:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5999716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/pseuds/RinChanSanMatsuoka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin finds that confessing isn't like he imagined it would be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Charms and Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

> giri choco = obligation chocolate aka non-romantic
> 
> honmei choco = romantic chocolates.
> 
> This got a bit away from me and I ended up putting a lot of personal feelings into it haha I'm sorry.

“Onii-chan, you need to make your hearts fancier!”

Rin glanced over at Gou, making a disgusted face at all the pink and red icing swirls on her chocolates.  “Why?  They’re fine plain, aren’t they?  They’ll be too sweet otherwise.”

Gou sighed, clearly exasperated with her brother, who had spent more time complaining than helping.  The siblings had spent the better part of the day trying to make homemade chocolate, which was quite a feat for a 13 and 14 year old to accomplish.  The hearts were slightly lopsided but after several taste tests, Gou had determined that this batch was perfect.

“They’re not for you, onii-chan.  Besides, Sousuke-kun likes sweet things.  Don’t you want them to look nice for him?”  She gave her brother a look, clearly indicating that she knew exactly what he had planned to do with the sweets.

At the mention of the other boy, Rin’s face burned a brilliant red.  He shook his head, backing away from the kitchen counter and glaring at the chocolate as though it had personally offended him.  “They’re fine plain.  I don’t want them to be girly.”

“It’s chocolate!  But fine, keep them plain.  Put them in the box at least,” Gou said, turning her attention back to her own chocolate.  If Rin decided to keep being a stubborn idiot, there was nothing she could do to help him.

* * *

With the chocolate tucked safely into his school bag the next day, Rin ran ahead to school, not waiting for Gou or Sousuke.  If he got there before Sousuke, he could slip the box into his shoe locker and no one would be the wiser.  He wouldn’t have to make a fool of himself by giving _homemade_ chocolate to another boy.  This way, Sousuke wouldn’t even have to know it was from him.

That had been the plan.  However, when Rin made his way over to Sousuke’s shoe locker, the plan fell apart.

The locker was stuffed with chocolate boxes, with a few falling to the floor.  Sure, Rin had known that Sousuke was popular with the girls – he’d heard a girl say his constant serious face was _so_ attractive and he felt inclined to agree – but this?  This was ridiculous.

Rin approached the locker slowly, feeling his heart sink down into his stomach as he realized there was no room to slip his box in there.  The only other option was to give it to Sousuke in person and he couldn’t do that.  There was no way. 

What if Sousuke laughed at him for it?  Would Sousuke reject him?  Or think it was too girly?  Sousuke had always been the one to comfort him after a classmate would make a cutting remark about Rin’s name or appearance.  Rin knew that if Sousuke were to say something like that to him, he’d fall apart.

“Rin!  Why didn’t you wait for me?”

Sousuke’s voice came from right beside him, startling Rin.  He jumped back from the locker, trying to come up with something to say.  “I, um, I had something to do…  You sure are popular, huh?”  He gestured at the locker vaguely before trying to leave.

A hand around his arm stopped him.  “Rin, are you okay?  You look like you’re about to cry.”  Sousuke’s voice was soft, just like it always was when he was worried.

“I’m fine!”  Yanking his arm away from Sousuke, Rin walked away quickly, stopping by his own locker to switch shoes.  He ignored the box of bitter chocolate Gou had made for him and the few bags of _giri choco_ from girls in the swim club to get his shoes.

After changing, Rin hurried to his classroom, not bothering to wait for Sousuke.

* * *

During morning classes, Rin could feel Sousuke’s eyes on him and he knew he should give him some kind of explanation.  Unable to think of one, he hid from him during lunch, not wanting to watch his best friend and crush eating everyone else’s chocolates.

Finding a spot under a big tree near the athletics field, Rin sat amongst the roots and opened his school bag to glare at the box of chocolates.

“I shouldn’t have made you,” Rin whispered, picking up the box.  Maybe he should just throw it out or shove it into a random shoe locker.  He could make someone else happy today even if he couldn’t be.

A drop of water fell onto the box, confusing Rin momentarily before he realized he was crying.  Great, this was _exactly_ what he needed right now.  He threw the box away from him, watching it slide along the grass before his vision became too blurry.  Curling up, he pressed his face into his knees, trying to will the tears away but they only came harder.

Who was he trying to fool, anyway?  He and Sousuke were just friends.  That’s all they had ever been and all they ever would be and here Rin was, thinking of risking his friendship with a box of chocolates.

Rin wasn’t sure how long he cried but when the tears finally subsided, he got up.  He’d have to make it to a bathroom to clean up and just hope that no one saw him along the way.

When he went over to the box of chocolates, lying in the grass with a dented corner, Rin was overcome with the urge to stomp on it.  Maybe if he destroyed it, he could destroy these stupid feelings he was having as well.

He lifted his foot, ready to smash the box when a shout of his name brought him to a stop.

“Rin!  I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”  Sousuke shouted, running over to Rin, though he stopped a few feet away when he took in what was happening.  His eyes landed on the box on the ground before moving up to Rin’s tearstained face.  “Rin…?”

“Go away, Sousuke,” Rin muttered, looking away from his friend.  He picked up the box, gripping it tightly and adding another dent to the lid.  “I’m fine.”  It was a lie and an obvious one at that but Rin was too scared to admit what was actually wrong.

Sousuke ignored him, moving over so that he was standing right in front of Rin.  “Did someone hurt you?”  When the only response he got was a shake of the head, he frowned.  “Then why are you crying and trying to wreck a box of chocolates?”  He glanced down at the box, still frowning.  “Did you make them?”

Startled by the last question, Rin looked up at Sousuke for a moment before glancing down at the source of all his problems.  “How did you know?”

“The box is the same as Gou’s chocolate.  And you wouldn’t be this upset if someone had given you chocolate.  Did… Did you get rejected?” Sousuke asked, voice quiet.

Rin frowned at the tone of Sousuke’s voice, wondering if it was just his imagination that Sousuke sounded _hopeful._   Why would Sousuke sounded hopeful over something like that?  Unless…  “Sou, don’t… Please don’t laugh okay?”

“Huh?  Why would I laugh?”  Sousuke stared at Rin, his expression shifting from confusion to surprise when Rin thrust the box of chocolates into his hands.

“I made them for you,” Rin whispered, keeping his gaze rooted firmly on the ground.  After a few moments of silence, he looked up, waiting for Sousuke to make fun of him.

Instead, he found Sousuke trying the chocolates and smiling.  Dumbfounded, Rin simply stared at him.

“These are really good, Rin.  Probably the best I’ve had all day.”  Sousuke grinned at him before popping the rest of the heart into his mouth.

“What…?  But I saw some really fancy chocolates in your locker!  How are my stupid chocolates better than those?”  Surely Sousuke was joking and any second now he’d start laughing and make fun of Rin for making him chocolate.

“Because you made them for me, stupid.  I don’t really know any of those girls, so these are special.”  Sousuke’s cheeks turned red as he quickly looked away and put the chocolate in his school bag.  He hesitated for a moment before pulling out a small shark keychain.  “I got this for you because you don’t like sweets.  I wasn’t sure how to give it to you though, since this is supposed to be a day for girls expressing their love or whatever.”  Sousuke sighed before holding out the charm.  “I’ll get you something better for White Day, though, okay?”

Rin stared at the charm for a moment before taking it carefully.  It wasn’t anything big or special but the fact that Sousuke had gotten him something made his eyes well with tears again.  “Thank you,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes in an attempt not to cry in front of Sousuke.

“Don’t cry, Rin,” Sousuke said, smiling as he pulled Rin into a hug.  “You don’t have to worry about anything, okay?  There’s no one else I’d wanna get _honmei choco_ from, anyway.”

Feeling his face burn, Rin returned the hug tightly, laughing despite the tears slipping down his cheeks.  He had been such an idiot to think Sousuke would hate him.

When they pulled away, Rin was about to thank Sousuke again when his friend leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.  It was quick and both of them were blushing brightly when Sousuke pulled away.

“C-Come on, Rin.  Let’s go clean up your face before lunch is over.”  Sousuke seemed too embarrassed to look at Rin, settling instead for grabbing his hand and pulling him back to the school buildings.

Rin glanced down at their hands as they walked, smiling softly as he felt his heart soar.  It turned out the stupid chocolate had been entirely worth it.


End file.
